AppleInsider Staff
At a special media event on Wednesday, T-Mobile announced its latest "Un-carrier" initiative in "Wi-Fi Unleashed," which has the company promising Wi-Fi call and text support with every new phone sold.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere told those in attendance that all new smartphones sold on the carrier's network, including Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, will be able to handle texting and calling over Wi-Fi networks.
As described by Apple CEO Tim Cook during Tuesday's iPhone 6 debut, Wi-Fi calling allows users to set up and place calls over a Wi-Fi network rather than connecting with a cellular radio tower. The higher bandwidth grants more headroom for so-called "HD audio" voice throughput and lowers network congestion in the area.
Further, the tech allows handsets to hop from one network to another. For example, a subscriber can start a call on Wi-Fi at home, then step outside where the call will continue seamlessly on T-Mobile's cellular network.
In addition to ensuring all new phones come with Wi-Fi calling capability, T-Mobile is introducing a dedicated hotspot device called the T-Mobile Personal CellSpot. The hardware includes support for 802.11ac, prioritizes voice calling for higher definition audio and can work as a regular Internet router.
T-Mobile's announcement comes one day after Cook revealed T-Mobile as the only wireless operator in the U.S. to support Wi-Fi calling for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. In June, Legere confirmed that the carrier's network would support iOS 8's Wi-Fi calling feature.
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21 Comments
Can someone explain this to me? I'm a bit confused. If I had T-Mobile... Are they saying I could make a call on my wifi internet, which is Comcast, using my T-Mobile number? And the call would switch over to T-Mobile if I walked out of reach of my wifi? Does that mean using no data and no minutes so long as the call is using wifi? I wish I could get a data-only plan. I don't need minutes. I just need data for when I'm not on wifi. As for calls... I'd happily let 'em go to voicemail when I don't have wifi.
Surely the carriers are out of the loop when Wifi is on? My carrier here does advertise "unlimited wifi" when getting a package. That's kind of them but not really for them to say.
Can someone explain this to me? I'm a bit confused. If I had T-Mobile... Are they saying I could make a call on my wifi internet, which is Comcast, using my T-Mobile number? And the call would switch over to T-Mobile if I walked out of reach of my wifi? Does that mean using no data and no minutes so long as the call is using wifi?
I wish I could get a data-only plan. I don't need minutes. I just need data for when I'm not on wifi. As for calls... I'd happily let 'em go to voicemail when I don't have wifi.
Right there with ya, buddy.
Can someone explain this to me? I'm a bit confused. If I had T-Mobile... Are they saying I could make a call on my wifi internet, which is Comcast, using my T-Mobile number? And the call would switch over to T-Mobile if I walked out of reach of my wifi? Does that mean using no data and no minutes so long as the call is using wifi?
What you describe is accurate: the phone uses Wifi when near an AP that you are connected to, and can transition to a cell tower when you no longer are within range of the AP. The Wifi calling does still use your calling minutes though, but no data.
Currently it depends on software that is embedded in the OS of T-Mobile phones. I had a HTC One with T-Mobile's Android version on it and it worked with the Wifi calling. Once moving to stock Android on a Nexus 5, Wifi calling is no longer possible. I'm not sure how they will handle this in the future but it is currently deep in the system and not just some app you can download.
All of T-Mobile’s Simple Choice plans are unlimited text and calling, so there are no minutes to be eaten up. It’s unlimited already, you're simply making the call via Wi-Fi instead of the T-Mobile network, which gives you the ability to make calls in far more places where cell signal is poor.